


The Moments of Is and Was

by mixthealphabet



Series: And It Grows [14]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Part of a series for a reason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 01:45:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/986185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixthealphabet/pseuds/mixthealphabet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucy was going back to her home, and Natsu suddenly feared that meant he was going to lose his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Moments of Is and Was

_By the time I recognize this moment, this moment will be gone, but I will bend the light pretending that it somehow lingered on. […] Was there a second of time that I looked around? Did I sail through or drop my anchor down? Was anything enough to kiss the ground and say I'm here now? And she's here now._

When Natsu Dragneel entered the Strawberry Street apartment – through the window, as he was known for –, Lucy Heartfilia didn't even flinch, limiting herself to a mere smile over her shoulder before she continued to sort through the letters sitting in her dinner table.

While some people would see this behavior as strange, it was actually a representation of the familiarity they had fallen into those past few months. Even though the girl would always disapprove of her partner's manners, she had also grown accustomed to Natsu's eccentricity. It was endearing, in a way, his energetic cheerfulness and how he seemed to focus it on her.

It was also awfully misleading, but Lucy didn't want to go into that.

"What are you doing, Luce?" The dragon slayer asked, quietly setting the sleeping Happy down onto her bed. The blue exceed purred as he curled around one of Lucy's pillows, murmuring something about the fishes he'd gotten for Carla.

The blonde turned back to her work, smiling softly at the adorableness of his dreams. She admired that in the cat, his ability to be open about his feelings in spite of how painful Carla's rejection must be.

Natsu stood by her bed, watching Lucy's expressions change as her attention reverted back to her thoughts. The little grimaces were weird – there was no better word to describe them,  _her_  – but the happiness depicted in the quirk of her brows was enough to make his own lips twist into a grin.

The boy approached her from behind, placing his hands on her hips as he tried to crane his neck to look at the letter Lucy had been reading moments before.

His touch made her freeze, and the paper in her hands fell to the table as a gasp escaped her. The celestial mage glanced at Natsu from the corner of her eye, staring at him with a sort of panic he wasn't completely oblivious to. He had seen it in her reactions to him for quite some time now: a mixture of surprise and anxiety, as if she was expecting him to jump her at any second.

The boy blinked, face reddening with the implication created by his brain.

It was true that his attraction to Lucy hadn't lessened at all. The more time they spent together, the more he seemed to want her near. It was a desire he hadn't known before her appearance in his life, but that had turned into an old acquaintance with her constant presence by his side.

He supposed it came with age.

He'd been a child then, when they'd met, with a head full of all the things he heard in the guild and of all the things Igneel had told him, without ever understanding. He shouted at Gray for being a pervert and he laughed about the idea of sex, simply because emulating the others was easier than questioning their behavior.

Gildarts had said that, when the time came, Natsu, as well, would find something who made his blood pressure spike.

"Hm… Natsu? Are you okay?" Lucy's voice intruded on his thoughts as she pressed back onto him, resting her head against his shoulder.

The movement startled him slightly, but the boy did his best not to show it. His heart pounded against his chest, racing like only Lucy could make it do.

The way his body responded to her still confused Natsu. They had been friends for years and shared a relationship that was closer than any he had had previously, but that was exactly why he shouldn't feel such things around her. He had always known that Lucy was beautiful, so what had changed?

"I'm fine." He replied, turning his head to the side to hide his blush.

The dragon slayer supposed they had started to overstep some boundaries they probably shouldn't have. Lucy, who was usually very firm about limits not being crossed, had accepted him into her home and into her bed in the most innocent of ways, only for them to fall into these strange little habits, like holding each other while sleeping or always being in close contact.

"How did fishing go?" The girl had picked up her letter, trying to act nonchalant so he wouldn't notice the redness of her cheeks.

"It was great!" Natsu replied, grinning. "We stopped at the guild to leave what we caught. You said we didn't have any space left in the fridge, right?"

He connected his hands over her stomach, embracing Lucy as his head dropped to the crook of her neck.

"I- I did say that." She answered, blinking rapidly as a new rush of heat flooded her face. "I guess it was nice of you to do that. Mira has given the two of you enough free meals, so she must appreciate the change of pace."

Natsu smirked against her skin, both puzzled and satisfied by the celestial mage's rapid pulse.

"Yeah, well, Happy dozed off while I talked to everyone. I had to carry him here." He groaned out, without moving from his previous position.

Lucy chuckled, squirming a bit against him.

"Don't be so grumpy about it." She chastised softly. "And take a step back, will you? Your breath is tickling –"

She had stopped talking and was turning an envelope in her hands, obviously shocked by it in some way. The tenseness in her shoulders made Natsu open his eyes, shifting to try and see what was so special about this new letter.

"Is that the water bill? Because I swear it was Happy! He said I couldn't flood the bathroom and it was pretty much a dare, so what else could I do?!" He pleaded to her more reasonable side, already feeling dread fill him as he thought about what kind of punishment Lucy would come up with.

"It's not the water bill." Her statement came in a breathless whisper. Natsu felt her body shake against his. "It's from my father's lawyer."

The boy pulled away from her, facing her more directly as his expression sobered up to one of suspicion.

"Your father?" He frowned. "I thought that was over. Didn't he give you the money to keep this place after… Well, you know, after we came back from Tenrou Island?"

Lucy turned away from him, clutching the letter to her chest. Even without being able to see her eyes, Natsu could smell the saltiness of tears and it only served to deepen his scowl.

"I hate it when people make you cry."

The celestial mage seemed to catch her breath, before glancing at Natsu over her shoulder. She smiled and it was that smile she always gave him, self-pleased and embarrassed, but there was an edge of sadness that drained it of all its joy.

"Because I'm your nakama." She rubbed her cheek, wiping the tear that had been there. "You say the most exasperating things, did you know?"

Natsu was taken aback by her tone. She didn't sound angry or annoyed, just  _tired_. He wasn't used to that. Lucy was one of the most determined people he had ever met; she never gave up, even when it meant wearing herself to the bone. Having her look so weary felt wrong and it made his chest clench with worry.

"Because you're my nakama." He agreed, a grin spreading across his face. "But especially because you're Lucy!"

This time, the color that rushed to her face went pretty much unnoticed as the girl giggled, the brightness of it making Natsu beam back at her.

"So exasperating." Lucy muttered under her breath, sounding strangely happy.

"Anyway," the dragon slayer approached her once again, taking hold of the hand that wasn't still clutching the envelope. "What does the lawyer want?"

She squeezed his hand, entwining their fingers.

"Do you remember the Heartfilia state?"

He nodded, scrunching up his face into a grimace as he thought about the mansion.

"That gigantic town? 'Course I do."

Lucy rolled her eyes but didn't bother to correct him; in a way, she could understand the others' admiration for her old home.

"They still haven't found a buyer, since the grounds are so extensive. They could sell it in parts, but my father made sure there was a clause in the contract that assured the lands would remain connected." She smiled. "He wanted everything to stay the same."

Natsu stared at his partner, confused.

"But what does that have to do with you?"

Lucy glanced at him, before shifting her gaze to her feet. She let go of his hand, thrusting the letter into it.

"I know I don't belong there, anymore, but it was my home for a long time." The girl walked to her bed, sitting on it and looking out the window. Besides her, Happy whimpered in his sleep. "I can't bring myself not to care."

Natsu looked at the paper in his hand, noticing that the envelope was still closed. He wasn't sure what to do with it. Did Lucy want him to burn it? Did she want him to read it?

A breeze came in through the open window, carrying little yellow flowers and their warm scent.

It was almost summer.

"I can understand that." Natsu said after a moment of silence, staring at the back of his friend's head in hope she would turn to him. "You miss those times when things hadn't started to go wrong. I can relate to that."

Lucy's lips twisted into the softest of smiles and she pulled Happy closer to her lap, stroking in between his ears.

"I know you can, Natsu. I guess there aren't many in Fairy Tail who wouldn't be able to understand the beauty of 'what once was'. It's part of what brings us all closer."

The boy sighed, before moving to the bed. He sat down next to Lucy, enveloping her in his arms and burying his face in her shoulder.

"I guess."

The blonde continued to play with Happy's ears, pretending not to be affected by his weight on her back.

"I'm sorry. This is depressing." She laughed, bringing a hand to her forehead in embarrassment.

"It's not, you weirdo." Natsu replied, pressing his lips against the skin of her neck in a comforting gesture. The impulse felt odd, even to him, but Lucy felt warm and soft and he didn't regret it.

If she had noticed his action, the girl said nothing.

"The grounds have gotten cheaper, because no one wants to pay what they are worth." She explained, going back to the subject of the letter. "I contacted the lawyer about a year or two ago, saying that I was interested in getting the mansion back, if I ever got the money necessary to do so."

Natsu straightened his back, tilting his neck to look at her.

"Is that what you've been doing with your jewels?"

The girl nodded, turning to him.

"I tried to save as much as possible from our missions, I did little jobs on the side, like working as a waitress in the guild, and I tried to publish my books…" She frowned and Natsu remembered that her book's rejection was still a sore subject.

"You should have told Happy and I! We would have helped!" Natsu grinned, letting go of her and throwing his arms up in excitement. "I bet there's a fish pond somewhere in that town!"

Lucy widened her eyes, both surprised and touched by his offer.

"I couldn't ask that of you."

"You didn't ask." He argued. "We would buy it together! It would be awesome!"

The easiness he had said it – that they could buy a  _house_  together – flabbergasted her and Lucy staggered back, knocking Happy onto the floor. The exceed whined, waking up, and mumbled about an attack, before realizing what had happened.

"Lucy is hurting me!" He exclaimed, flying up to Natsu's shoulder. "She finally lost it!"

The girl glared at him, which made the dragon slayer laugh. He found it funny how temperamental Lucy could be.

"It's okay, Happy." Natsu appeased him. "We are talking about getting Lucy's old house back. I guess she got too excited about it."

The blonde smiled at this, somewhat glad that he hadn't understood the true reason behind her reaction.

"As I was saying," she started, regaining her composure. "I sent the lawyer a letter, telling him how much I could afford to pay. I was able to save up quite a lot, especially since the two of you moved… in…" She faltered in her words.

It was the first time they talked about it so clearly. After those first weeks in the winter, the three had fallen into a routine, preferring not to analyze what they were doing. Even if Lucy acknowledged it to herself, it was strange to put it so clearly to Natsu. She feared he might feel the need to correct her.

But the boy merely continued to grin at her.

"See? We helped!" He said to Happy, oblivious to the shy smile that had appeared in Lucy's lips.

"Does that mean we get to play there?" The exceed questioned, joyfully looking up at her.

"I don't know." She confessed, moving her gaze to the letter that remained in Natsu's hand. "Does it?"

The dragon slayer didn't waste a second. He ripped the envelope, opening the letter and skimming through it quickly. As he read, his brow wrinkled in what seemed to be frustration.

"What is it, Natsu?" Happy was the first one to voice their concern, as Lucy found herself too afraid to ask.

The boy met her eyes, and the concern in his gaze made something twist in her stomach.

"He said it might be enough," he hesitated. "But you will need to go to him, because it looks like there is another person interested."

Lucy nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Well, it looks like I'll be going on a field trip." She stood up from the bed, putting a smile onto her face as she forced herself to stay positive. "It was bound to happen, really." She shook her head, seeming to break away from her thoughts, and looked over at the other two. "You must be tired from the fishing. I'll prepare something for you."

With that, the girl made her way to kitchen, wringing her hands in agitation.

After she'd disappeared from sight, Happy turned to Natsu, frowning worriedly at the scowl present in his friend's expression.

"Is there more?" He asked in a small voice. The pinkette nodded.

"Apparently, there is some sort of privacy clause in the contract." Natsu crumpled the letter in his fist. "We can't go with her."

Lucy was going back to her home, and Natsu suddenly feared that meant he was going to lose his.

**Author's Note:**

> A gigantic thank you to everyone who has supported this series, you guys make me so happy, it's ridiculous.
> 
> The song is Clarity, by John Mayers.


End file.
